Actor:           Julie Andrews, Ilka Chase, Edie Adams, Howard Lindsay, Dorothy Stickney      
Director:      Ralph Nelson
Genre:          Musicals
Year:            1957
Studio:         Image Entertainment
Length:        77
Released:   December 14, 2004
Rating:         Not Rated (MPAA Rating)
Format:        DVD
Misc:            NTSC, Black & White
Language:  English
Subtitles  :  N/A

DESCRIPTION:

The DVD era has unearthed another treasure. For the first time ever, Julie Andrews's performance in the title role of the original 1957 television production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella is available to the public on home video. Cinderella was created as a Broadway-style television production with an original score from the creators of Oklahoma! and Carousel, featuring such songs as "In My Own Little Corner," "Impossible," "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful," and "Stepsisters' Lament." Cast in the title role was the 21-year-old Andrews, at the time starring on Broadway in My Fair Lady (another Cinderella story of sorts), and the cast was filled out by a talented bunch of stage veterans (including Kaye Ballard, Edie Adams, Dorothy Stickney, and Stickney's husband, writer Howard Lindsay). On March 31, 1957, a then-record 120 million homes saw the program as it was broadcast, live and in color, but it was preserved only in black-and-white kinescope, i.e., by aiming a camera at a monitor during the broadcast. While this version probably looks better than we have any right to expect, the picture is still fuzzy black-and-white, which makes it a tougher sell for kids than the later color versions, 1965 with Lesley Anne Warren and the 1997 Disneyized version. But give older kids (say, 8 or so) credit for being able to look past the black-and-white picture and primitive effects and enjoy the charming songs, the excellent performances, and the prospect of seeing one of their favorite actresses play one of their favorite princesses.

Fortunately, the DVD has also received the attention it deserves, with a new introduction by Andrews, a 20-minute featurette about the production, including interviews with many of the principals; Rodgers and Hammerstein's appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show a week before the broadcast; and a gallery of color photos of the production as well as promotional material, which included paper dolls of Andrews.

Special Features:

• Exclusive, newly recorded DVD introduction by Julie Andrews
• Brand-new documentary featuring all-new interviews with stars Julie Andrews, Edie Adams, Kaye Ballard and Jon Cypher
• Never-before-seen behind-the-scenes photo galleries
• Extensive galleries of rare color photos and advertising art
• Rodgers and Hammerstein's appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show prior to the airing of Cinderella
• Collector's booklet: "Impossible Things Are Happening Every Day: The Making of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella!"